AMHERST, N.Y. - For the second consecutive week, the Daemen College women's cross country team was included in the latest version of the
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II Regional Rankings, coming in again at No. 6 in the East Region. The Wildcats, under the direction of first-year head coach
Paul Lagno,
debuted in the poll at No. 6 last week.
The top seven teams from last week's poll remained the same in this week's version, the fifth poll put out by USTFCCCA this season including its preseason rankings. Stonehill College (No. 1) and Roberts Wesleyan College (No. 2) remained the class of the region atop the rankings.
Lagno's squad is again one of four East Coast Conference teams to be included in the poll. In addition to Daemen and the afore-mentioned Roberts Wesleyan, Saint Thomas Aquinas College came in at No. 5, while Long Island University Post moved up one spot to No. 8 in this week's poll. Previously unranked Le Moyne College and Adelphi University, both of the Northeast-10 Conference, jumped in this week at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.
The Wildcats were able to hold steady in the poll after competing in the Mike Woods Invitational last Saturday, October 3, an event hosted by SUNY Geneseo at Letchworth State Park.
Daemen finished 11th in the team standings, out of a large field of 32 competing teams.
The Wildcats were paced again Saturday by junior
Mackenzie Donahue (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) who, for the second-straight week, eclipsed one of her own school records. This time, Donahue broke her previous best mark for the 6K distance, running the race in 22:14.5 to finish in 12th place. She had set the previous school record of 22:39.8 at the same event last season. Donahue set a new benchmark for the 5K distance (18:19.0) at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational on September 26.
In addition to Donahue's record-setting performance, Daemen got personal-best efforts Saturday from junior
Hannah Rice (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora), sophomore
Amy Trabert (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst) and junior
Brittany Denton (Oakfield, N.Y./Oakfield-Alabama). Rice's time of 22:56.6 was good for 41st place, while Trabert was hot on her heels, finishing in 42nd place with her time of 22:57.6. Denton finished in 115th overall, besting more than three-quarters of the field which included 453 competitors, with her personal-best time of 24:12.2.
USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member foach in each respective region. The NCAA Division II East Region is comprised of teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.
A change to the Wildcats' original schedule was announced earlier today, meaning Daemen will return to racing on October 17 at the Canisius Alumni Classic.
